Bibliograph

Track changes, a literary history of word processing, Matthew G. Kirschenbaum

Type

Label

Track changes, a literary history of word processing, Matthew G. Kirschenbaum

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-327) and index

Illustrations

illustrationsplates

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Track changes

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

926061469

Responsibility statement

Matthew G. Kirschenbaum

Sub title

a literary history of word processing

Summary

"The story of writing in the digital age is every bit as messy as the ink-stained rags that littered the floor of Gutenberg's print shop or the hot molten lead of the linotype machine. During the period of the pivotal growth and widespread adoption of word processing as a writing technology, some authors embraced it as a marvel while others decried it as the death of literature. The product of years of archival research and numerous interviews conducted by the author, Track Changes is the first literary history of word processing. Matthew Kirschenbaum examines how the interests and ideals of creative authorship came to coexist with the computer revolution. Who were the first adopters? What kind of anxieties did they share? Was word processing perceived as just a better typewriter or something more? How did it change our understanding of writing? Track Changes balances the stories of individual writers with a consideration of how the seemingly ineffable act of writing is always grounded in particular instruments and media, from quills to keyboards. Along the way, we discover the candidates for the first novel written on a word processor, explore the surprisingly varied reasons why writers of both popular and serious literature adopted the technology, trace the spread of new metaphors and ideas from word processing in fiction and poetry, and consider the fate of literary scholarship and memory in an era when the final remnants of authorship may consist of folders on a hard drive or documents in the cloud."--Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

It is known -- Word processing as a literary subject -- Perfect -- Around 1981 -- North of Boston -- Signposts -- Typing on glass -- Unseen hands -- Think tape -- Reveal codes -- What remains -- After word processing

Classification